Into the serpent's lair
by Queen of Leaves
Summary: A surprise gift leads to a horrifying surprise Ginny thought she had left behind in the Chamber of Secrets...Now, how far into the serpent's lair is she willing to go? Alternate DH ending. Finally updating!
1. Chapter 1

This is a multi-chaptered Ginny/Tom fic. Takes place after Hogwarts...This is a Christmas gift for a friend, so enjoy, Elvra!

"Oh Hermione! It's beautiful!" Ginny's voice was awed as she walked around Hermione's gift to her. Hermione smiled. Ginny was one of the hardest people to shop for and when Hermione had set eyes on a large, full-length cherry-wood mirror in Diagon Alley, she was ecstatic. Harry and Ginny had been looking for bedroom decorations for their new house. Both planned to move into the old mansion and spruce it up after their marriage. Hermione's gift had been a dust-removing spell that cleaned the entire mansion and now the mirror.

Harry smiled and put his arm around Ginny. "It's wonderful, Hermione. Thank you. I just wish-" Ginny shook her head slightly. Hermione had taken Ron's death badly and there was no need to reopen old wounds before such a happy occasion.

"Harry..." Ginny said, enthralled by the mirror. The wooded base boasted the Hogwarts crest and each corner was emblazoned with the house mascots, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff on the bottom while a roaring Gryffindor lion seemed to roar at her from the top. However, Ginny's eyes were drawn to the Slytherin crest, a wooden snake that laced itself up the side of the mirror while its ruby eyes peered at her. It almost seemed alive.

Guiltily, Ginny ran a finger over the Gryffindor lion. "Can I put this in my room?"

Both Harry and Ginny had decided to have their own rooms for the purpose of privacy. No matter how close they got in their relationship, it was still nice to spend a little time apart. Harry laughed. "You just want to keep it all to yourself, eh? I don't see why not. I'll have the house elves move it up there right now."

Ginny leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Harry."

Hermione smiled at the affectionate couple. She missed that lingering sense of intimacy she had with Ron...

Later that night, when Harry was deep in the mansion setting up their library, Ginny entered her room. A wave of her wand set the candlesticks alight, casting the room in eerie shadows. The mirror was set up in a corner, exactly where she would have put it if she had the strength to move it. Her pale reflection was barely visible in the darkness.

A flicker in the ruby eyes of the snake made her gasp and start ever so slightly. No, it was late. She was tired and nervous about the impending wedding and her mind was playing tricks on her. Wasn't it?

With a shiver of undiluted anticipation, Ginny approached the mirror. Her own reflection wavered in the dim, flickering light of the candles. She looked tired, but her face held a certain glow from smiling so often. Her red hair was longer than it had been at Hogwarts and the small scar from the final battle, a testament to her love for Harry, was barely visible above the green turtleneck she wore.

She shook her head, embarrassed at her child-like indulgence into such fantasy. She turned, preparing to go to bed for the night when a noise behind her made her stop.

She turned slowly and saw a strange sight unfolding in the mirror. Her reflection grew taller, more defined and darker. It now showed her something familiar...someone she knew.

"Tom...Tom Riddle."

DUN DUN DUN! I'll update soon, I hope. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back and on a massive updating spree!

"_Tom…Tom Riddle."_

Chapter 2

Ginny drew closer to the mirror, so close that her nose was almost touching the cool screen.

"Hello, Ginny," Tom said, a small smile on his pale lips.

"What…how? You're dead. Harry killed you…" Ginny said as she drew closer still, determined to disprove the continued existence of Voldemort.

The same smile flickered again. "I'm here Ginny. Come with me." With that, Tom extended one pale hand out through the mirror, fingers outstretched.

Ginny stared at the hand and then at Tom. He looked the same as he had when she was a second year, dark hair tossed across a pale, angular face, handsome features accented by the candlelight.

"What are you waiting for, Ginny? Come with me. I can protect you."

"Protect me from what?" Ginny said, instinctively drawing back from Tom's alluring gaze.

Tom's smile faded into a frustrated countenance. "There isn't time, Ginny. Come with me!" he demanded.

"I…I can't," Ginny faltered.

Tom's gently outstretched hand formed into a stiff palm and pushed her backwards. Stumbling, Ginny landed on her bed, watching fearfully as Tom strained to free himself from the mirror. Both arms and his head were free when Ginny awoke to Dobby's face hovering over her.

She screamed.

"Dobby is sorry, missus, but Harry Potter sent me to wake you for breakfast," Dobby squeaked.

"Breakfast…?" Ginny stood and looked out of her large French doors, squinting in the bright sunlight.

"Yes. Missus needed her rest, Dobby said, but Harry Potter was most insistent, so Dobby woke you. Breakfast will be in five minutes." With a bow, Dobby apparated from the room, leaving only Ginny and the mirror alone in the slowly warming room.

Unnerved, Ginny changed from her sweater to a bathrobe and pants. No need for Harry to know she hadn't even changed her clothes last night.

Ginny entered the breakfast room to be greeted with the sight of a smiling Harry.

"Good morning, love. Thought I had lost you in the house somewhere," he said warmly, jumping up to kiss her on the cheek. She smiled shyly.

"I was just tired, I suppose. Harder to fall asleep in an unfamiliar house," she said, smiling at her fiancé, all thoughts of Tom Riddle temporarily banished.

"I have tea and biscuits, unless there is something else you'd like," Harry said as he pulled her chair out for her.

"No, that sounds fine. Did you sleep well?" she said as she allowed Harry to fill her plate with biscuits and jam and make her tea the way she liked it-two lumps of sugar and a hint of honey.

"Yes. Ginny, I'll need to be leaving right after breakfast. I just wanted to see you before I left," Harry said, rising to clear his side of the table.

"Where are you going?" Ginny managed through a mouthful of bread.

"There's a wizarding lecture at Hogwarts. I'm talking to the teachers about battling the Dark Arts. I thought I mentioned it…"

"I'm sure you did," Ginny said with a sheepish smile. "I'll just do some more unpacking while you're gone."

Harry smiled and kissed her again, keeping his gaze on her as he apparated from their home.

Ginny spent the rest of the day organizing boxes of her former possessions. Even with magic and a few house elves, unpacking was still a chore. Exhausted by the end of the evening, Ginny, damp from her shower, practically crawled into her bed, falling blissfully asleep without a second thought.

A few hours into the night and the mirror's reflection began to distort, revealing the smoldering picture of Tom Riddle.

"A few more nights of happiness Ginny," he whispered. "Then I shall be free."

End of Chapter 2

_This is sounding more and more like the Phantom of the Opera to me! Anyway, review if you liked _


	3. Chapter 3

Snip A few hours into the night and the mirror's reflection began to distort, revealing the smoldering picture of Tom Riddle.

"A few more nights of happiness Ginny," he whispered. "Then I shall be free." Snip 

Into the Serpent's Lair-Chapter Three

Ginny awoke late in the morning, blinking in bleary confusion at her disheveled reflection in the mirror. A shiver of unease went down her spine at her consideration of the mirror. Not bothering to shower or change, Ginny left her bedroom, seeking something else to occupy her mind.

That something happened to be downstairs in the form of many boxes that still required unpacking. Methodically, Ginny began to open boxes, classify the contents into hers or Harry's. As she moved to lift a particularly large box, she winced, hearing her knees crack at the promised strain.

"Dobby."

With a crack, the house elf appeared, swept low into a bow. "You summoned me, missus?"

Ginny smiled at the scruffy elf. "Please get my wand from my room. I'm afraid I left it there and I don't-"

"Of course-" Dobby disappeared and reappeared with a crack, holding her wand. "Missus. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Take this pile up to Harry's room, this to mine and I'll need some help sorting furniture later," she replied, gesturing vaguely.

Dobby nodded eagerly and disappeared, taking the assorted piles of junk with him.

Ginny glanced at the clock. It was already almost noon. Harry would be giving his lecture soon. She smiled faintly and set about fixing lunch for herself in the cluttered kitchen.

A sandwich and a few chips later, Ginny was back at work. During lunch, the large wall-mounted mirror Harry had ordered had arrived. Using her wand to undo the wrapping, she paced their version of the Great Hall, pondering where to put the silver-encased mirror. Above the fireplace seemed appropriate and with a simple Sticking Spell, the mirror was firmly affixed, adding depth and warmth to the room.

Another flick of her wand set the fireplace ablaze with blue flames. Bubbling with a quiet pride at her work, Ginny sat back on the loveseat, admiring the house. Simply winding down from the last battle with Voldemort was draining-add in moving into a new house and planning a wedding and Ginny was operating in a state of constant exhaustion.

Slowly, her eyes began to close as sleep pervaded her senses. Mentally berating herself for her apparent laziness, Ginny slipped into a light doze once again, bathed in blue flames from the fireplace.

The sun slipped lower in the sky as Ginny turned restlessly on the couch. "No…Tom…Tom!" she whispered, clutching at the fabric of the sofa with claw-like fingers. Shaking, she bolted upright, half-sliding off of the couch in her frantic movement.

Blue flames still burned in the fireplace. Boxes were still piled everywhere. This was the same room she had fallen asleep in, so why had she been back in the Chamber of Secrets?

"Help me, Ginny," came Tom's chillingly seductive voice.

Tumbling completely to the floor, Ginny looked up at the mirror above the fireplace to see a distorted Tom Riddle staring down at her.

"I…I don't know how," she faltered, stretching towards the mirror.

He smiled. "I can show you. You have to help me, Ginny. Help me…" He slowly began to fade from the mirror.

Something began to twist inside of Ginny. Lost in the fog of her dream, she stumbled up the stairs, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Tom…Tom…Tom…Tom," she said with every footfall until she reached her bedroom, flinging the door open. The mirror was dark. There was no sign of Tom Riddle anywhere in her room.

Shaking, Ginny slipped against the bed, trying to hold her panic inside.

How could she tell Harry that after everything he had done for her, every risk he had taken to save her from Tom Riddle, that she in the moment she had seen the ruined diary, her heart had been broken?


	4. Chapter 4

_Here is the long awaited update!_

_Into the Serpent's Lair: Chapter four_

"Tom, please! I need you!" Ginny fell against the bed, clasping her shaking hands together so tightly, the knuckles turned white.

The mirror rippled as if a stone had been dropped into the middle of it and Tom appeared.

"Ginny, dearest," he said soothingly. "All you have to do is ask."

He reached down for her and Ginny leaped forward, stretching her hand as far up as it would go. Damn her for putting the mirror so high. She feared she wouldn't be able to reach Tom's hand. But their fingertips met and suddenly an iron grasp was pulling her into the mirror.

She was dizzy a few moments and closed her eyes, struggling to keep her nausea in check. Finally regaining her equilibrium, she looked up to see Tom's smiling face. One glance from him and the world righted itself.

"How have you been, Ginny? It's been too long," he said silkily, gray eyes dark with concern.

"Oh Tom!" She said, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shirt. He stiffened at first, then awkwardly patted her on the back until she loosened her grip.

"I thought I had lost you, Tom. Harry...and the basilisk fang...I thought he had killed you! How are you here?"

Only then did she realize where exactly here was. She was in her room, but everything was off and colorless. Intrigued, she lowered herself back onto her toes and looked around.

"Everything is backwards," she said in wonder, looking at the writing on her boxes with interest.

"Now you know how I have lived these last years," Tom said, his voice growing sad. "It's a lonely existence, Ginny. I haven't been able to be in the real world, in real time. I still am trapped here."

"You shouldn't be alive at all! How is this possible?"

"Ginny...you wouldn't wish me dead, would you?" Tom sounded hurt and Ginny turned to face him.

"No! Of course not. I...Harry just said that he had killed you...that all of the Horcruxes were gone."

"Harry Potter will never be able to kill me because I cannot die, Ginny." Tom spoke slowly as if explaining something complex to an exceptionally slow child. "The diary was not a Horcrux."

"So You-Know-Who is still alive?" Ginny felt a bolt of fear run down her spine.

"No no, shh," Tom said. "You silly girl, don't you see? None of that matters. I am here to protect you. I would never let him hurt you."

Ginny's mind, in its confusion, didn't see the glaring error in this statement. Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort.

But none of that mattered to her now, for she was tucked away safely with Tom. Nothing could happen.

Dimly, she was aware of the idea that she was supposed to finish unpacking, but that seemed unimportant.

"You look tired, Ginny."

She laughed wearily. "You have no idea. Planning a wedding and moving just sucks the life right out of you."

Tom stilled suddenly, turning his head to the side like a snake tasting for prey.

"Wedding?"

Ginny smiled ruefully. "Well, Harry and I are engaged. Have been for the last year."

Tom was painfully silent, his face filling with shadows, and Ginny was afraid she might have offended him. But he glanced at her and smiled apologetically.

"I'm happy for you Ginny. Really, I am. It's just been so long since I've seen you, I guess I was expecting to see the little girl I left behind." He stepped closer to her. "But even I can see you've grown into a woman - a beautiful woman. Harry is a lucky man."

Ginny flushed happily. "Oh Tom!" What a stroke of good luck! Here was her old friend back to visit and just in time for the wedding.

"Your bed is over there, Ginny. Go and sleep," Tom said, placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her to her bed.

"Tom, I can't. I have to make dinner. Harry's coming back," she said, resisting the siren call of her full, plush bed.

"You can sleep. Time passes differently here. Sleep as long as you wish. I will wake you when it is time for you to go."

Smiling, Ginny curled up into her bed, tossing until she had found the right spot. "You won't leave, will you Tom?"

"I will be right here."

Satisfied, she quickly succumbed to sleep. Almost immediately, the change in Tom's demeanor was evident.

"Wedding? Ginny, this simply will not do," he whispered softly, drawing out the 's' sound. "You are mine to have, not Harry Potter's. This simply will not do," he said, reaching out one gray finger to brush her cheek.

"Such color. Such...life," Tom said, admiring the vibrancy of her red hair against the gray of the bed sheets, wall, and his hand.

Ginny frowned in her sleep as Tom continued to trace circles on her face. "You have such life in you, Ginny. All I ask is a little taste."

Stepping back from her, the gray man turned and moved down a gray corridor. Everything on this side of the mirror was dull and lifeless. The only change now was the addition of two very bright green eyes on an otherwise unremarkable male face.

_And now I finally know where I'm going with this, so expect about weekly updates!_


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